N. Korea replaces guards, fortifies S. Korea border US to send F- 22 for S. Korea drill
Seoul, Nov. 24: North Korea has replaced dozens of guards and fortified a section of its border with South Korea following the dramatic defection of one of its soldiers last week, a report said Friday.
The 24- year- old soldier, identified only by his surname, Oh, is recovering in a South Korean hospital after being shot at least four times by his comrades as he dashed across the border.
“We’ve detected signs that all North Korean guards at the Joint Security Area ( JSA) were replaced immediately after the defection,” South Korea’s mass- circulated Chosun Ilbo daily said, citing government sources.
The report said around 35 to 40 North Koreans normally stand guard at the JSA, which is located at the Panmunjom truce village -the only portion of the border where forces from the two sides stand face- to- face.
“They will likely be held accountable for not being able to prevent the defection,” it added.
Oh made his dash over the border at Panmunjom on November 13.
Footage showed his former comrades opening fire on him as he raced on foot over the line that divides the two countries, after driving a military jeep to the JSA. He was shot at least four times in his daring bid, and was found by South Korean troops slumped in a pile of leaves just south of the border.
In an apparent attempt to Seoul: he US will send F- 22 Raptor stealth fighter jets to South Korea for a joint drill, reports said on Friday, in a new show of force aimed at Pyongyang.
Six fighter jets, normally based in Okinawa, Japan, will be deployed to the South for a five- day joint military exercise, Vigilant Ace, starting December 4, local media reported.
A South Korean Air Force spokesman said an
prevent further defections, the North Koreans have begun fortifying the border area where Oh crossed.
A picture posted on the Twitter account of acting US ambassador to South Korea, Marc Knapper, showed North Korean workers digging a deep trench on the North Korean side of the line as soldiers looked on.
“Was at JSA today, the North Koreans have planted two trees and are digging a trench at the spot where their soldier crossed “unspecified number” F- 22s would take part the drill.
Local media reported that the US aircraft will engage in precision strike drills with South Korean Air Force fighter jets.
Earlier this month, two B- 1B US supersonic bombers overflew the Korean peninsula as part of a joint exercise with Japanese and South Korean warplanes. the MDL ( military demarcation line),” Mr Knapper tweeted.
It was not clear if the spot photographed was exactly the same as the location of the defection, although it appeared to be similar.
The North Koreans have also reportedly closed down a bridge that leads into Panmunjom from the North after Oh drove across it without being stopped, a South Korean military source said, according to the Chosun Ilbo report. — AFP
Foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called US President Donald Trump’s move to place North Korea on the list of state sponsors of terrorism “another scaremongering act and PR move” that would not reduce tensions on the ground.
“The answer to the question whether such actions help in lessening the tensions is clear: no, they do not. These sorts of actions push the situation ( around North Korea) to the extreme, this can end with a big catastrophe not only of a regional but also of global scale,” Ms Zakharova told journalists in Moscow.
“They will concentrate on bilateral relations but the international situation will be discussed, including the situation in the Korean peninsula as well as the Syrian question,” Ms Zakharova said.